Majority Whip in Parliament Mr Frank Annoh-Dompreh has called for conclusive investigation and possible prosecution relating to some electricity prepaid meters that have allegedly been left to rot at the Tema port for the past five years.
The meters were procured by the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) under the Mahama-led National Democratic Congress (NDC) administration in 2016 at a cost of $40 million, out of which $36 million was disbursed under shady circumstances.
This because the verifications that should have preceded the arrival of the meters were reportedly not done and the conditions precedent for the supply contract were ignored and yet an amount of $22 million of the Letter of Credit, which was a significant portion of the $40 million cost, was disbursed.
Consequently, Mr Annoh-Dompreh urged the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Mr Godfred Yeboah Dame, to pursue the matter to its logical conclusion.
Bemoaning the situation, the Member of Parliament (MP) for Nsawam-Adoagyiri constituency in the Eastern Region, said this is happening at a time that electricity meters are in high demand in the country.
The lawmaker raised these concerns in an interview with the parliamentary press corps in Accra after asking an urgent question on the matter in Parliament.
Mr Annoh-Dompreh who is also a Board Member of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), explained that the situation is generating public discomfort.
“For a valuable material, which is in high demand to be left to rot at ports for close to five years is worrying,” he said.
Energy Minister
Mr Frank Annoh-Dompreh, Majority Chief Whip in Parliament 
Mr Godfred Yeboah Dame, Attorney-General and Minister for Justice
In answering the question from the Majority Chief Whip, Minister for Energy Dr. Mathew Opoku Prempeh, denied knowledge of the transaction and presence of the meters.
However, Mr. Annoh-Dompreh indicated Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) has even conducted an investigation into the matter adding, “There is some substance at the port and it’s lying there. I have not verified the content of that container but we are told there are thousands of meters in there and Ghanaians are crying for meters.
“We have done some investigations and a report submitted to EOCO and EOCO has forwarded its report to the Attorney General (AG).
“I have filed a question to the AG on what they are doing about it and if there is any locus to prosecute this matter. It is a very important matter and it happened in 2016”.
THE CUSTODIAN can confirm that EOCO has submitted a docket on the matter to the Attorney-General for review and possible prosecution in a letter dated October 15, 2021.
Indeed, the letter from EOCO to the Board Chairman of the ECG last month, Mr Keli Gadzekpo also entreated the power distribution company to take steps to salvage the prepaid meter parts shipped by Messrs L&R for use within its operations.
This, it said, is based on the principle that ECG should endeavour to mitigate its losses.
Biggest procurement fraud
In a related development, the Institute for Energy Policies and Research (INSTEPR) has described the payment of $36 million to L&R Investment and Trading Company Limited, for the supply of the meters as the biggest procurement fraud.
Mr Kwadwo N. Poku is the Executive Director of INSTEPR.
Background
INSTEPR indicated that when the contract was signed an advanced payment of USD $ 12 million was paid to L&R Investments plus a Letter of Credit (LC) of USD $24 million.
According to the Institute, it uncovered the matter while investigating procurement lapses at the ECG after the 2020 Auditor-General’s report.
It disclosed that in September 2016, the Ministry of Power wrote to the Managing Director of ECG, informing him of an $80 million financing secured by the Government for the procurement of electric Meters.
The letter stated that local Ghanaian companies will be given $40 million and Messrs. L & R Investments and Trading Company whose local representatives are Messrs., First Grace Limited, be given $40 million.
The Ministry’s letter instructed the managing director of ECG to initiate a discussion with the said suppliers with the view of entering into a contract for the supply of these electric meters and also asked for immediate response to their letter to facilitate cabinet and parliamentary approval.
The Management of ECG on their part upon receipt of the Ministry’s letter engaged Messrs. L&R Investments and six local Ghanaian companies.
After ECG had evaluated the proposal from L&R Investment, a pre-contract meeting was held in October 2016 between the technical team of ECG and the Managing Director, in the name of Mr. Tao Wenhui for L&R Investment.
At this meeting, the Scope of Supply, Technical Classification, Due Diligence, Pilot Studies, Factory Acceptance Tests (FAT) and Training of ECG metering Staff were discussed and agreed upon.
Condition precedent
The two key conditions before the supply of the meters after signing the contract were the Pilot study to assess the meters for 2 months and the Factory Acceptance Tests (FAT).
After the contract was signed and L&R given an initial payment of USD $12 million, the meters that were to be provided as samples (200 electric meters) for the Pilot studies were not sent to ECG.
Again, the agreed travel of three representatives from ECG to undertake the Factory Acceptance Tests in China before the manufacturing of the said meters did not take place.
Without any of these conditions being met, the management of ECG was sent shipping documents for containers of meters at Tema Port.
ECG informed L&R Investment that they cannot accept the containers because they have not followed the processes agreed to as per their contract.
After months of back and forth with L&R Investments, the containers of Meters were cleared from the Tema port to stop the accrual of demurrage.
The meters in the containers were not the specification as per the supply contract.
INSTEPR indicated it was informed the said contract was terminated in 2017 after legal consultations on the non-performance by L&R Investment.
“This company after months of not conforming to the agreed conditions of their contract, went ahead to discount the $24 million Letter of Credit (LC) given to them under the contract.
“We have sighted documents that state that on the 16th of August 2017 at a time when Capital Bank Limited had ceased to be a bank under the laws of Bank of Ghana, Capital Bank discounted the LC and made a payment of USD $22.5 million to L&R Investment,” INSTEPR boss Mr Kwadwo Poku stated.
The Institute, he said, contacted officials of ECG to ascertain further and better particulars on the transaction and were informed all documents relating to the transaction is with EOCO and National Security.
Needless delay
According to Mr Kwadwo Poku, further checks revealed that EOCO and National Security have indeed been investigating the transaction since 2017.
He however questioned why it has taken four years for the State Security Agencies to investigate the transaction.
“Who are the people behind L&R Investment and Trading Company in Ghana? The initial $12 million was paid to First Grace Limited, who are the people behind this company? Why is the management of Capital Bank Limited not being prosecuted for the illegal discounting of the Letter of Credit,” he quizzed?
Ghanaians, he said, need to demand answers and accountability for the ‘fraudulent transaction’ and insisted there is no way the transaction was done by an average official of ECG or the government.
